An Interview with “The Wavewalker” Filmmaker Hope Miller

Where did the idea for this film originate?

The idea of this film originated with a story I’d come up with in high school in 2018. I’d even written a screenplay about it, but it was very very different from its current iteration. It used to be about two best friends and one losing the other to a mass suicidal cult so they wouldn’t have to bear witness to the events of climate change. As you can see now, the cult has completely been cut out because in earlier versions of the current Wavewalker I couldn’t make it concise enough so I went with a more supernatural vibe, changed Olive to be an RA to make the dynamic more interesting, and gave Sky a hand injury for the same reason. We now focus on their bonding rather than their bond being tragic and falling apart.

What do you like about editing your own films, and how does your perspective as an editor help you in the process of writing and directing?

I like the control and I like to sharpen my editing skills. Because I’m an editor and I know my scope I tend to be a “fix it in post” kinda person because I know exactly how we’ll fix it in post.

Your use of light, color, and sound creates a somewhat surreal tone. Why was that tone important to you in telling a story about this character?

I’m all about color and vibes. I love visuals. I really wanted the smoky blue tones for Sky in particular because she feels shrouded in smoke and unable to be understood, and also to get across the vibes of The Wavewalker and how it’s a supernatural entity. I wanted the color to border the surreal because we’re ultimately telling a fantasy story. 

What do you hope to do next? (Any themes you want to continue exploring, genres you want to work in, mediums you want to experiment with? etc...)

I’m working on my Senior BFA Film at UCF called Bleach which I’ll hopefully show at the next showcase!! It plays a lot more with color dynamics throughout and walks the line between fantasy and reality. With my films I want to continue exploring the effects of mental illness on social connection, and I like to say that Bleach is the opposite of Wavewalker because it shows two people making each other worse as opposed to two people helping each other.